We'll Paint The Town Scarlett
by Littlestladybug
Summary: Scarlett Kilmore didn't think the abrupt move to Lazytown would result in her hair colour being the least dramatic thing going on in the town. Blending in is her thing, but in a small town filled with matchmaking sisters, above-average heroes, and step-aunts with big plans, this can't last. Finally, Scarlett won't have to blend- but how long will it take for her secret to come out?
1. Chapter 1

**Alright. So, here is something I have been working on for a while... I am tentatively posting this chapter just to see reactions to it- if they're good I might keep writing, if they're not, then I probably won't keep going with it. Leave a review if you like!**

 **~O~O~O~**

Everybody was waiting by the train station, eagerly searching for the train that was supposed to be pulling in any moment. Well, Stephanie and the kids- Trixie, Stingy, Pixel and Ziggy- were practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation. Sportacus had sent them to go for a run along the green strip that was just outside the station and within the eyes of the watchful above-average hero and the two other adults with him.

Mayor Milford Meanswell looked at his watch and then at the tracks that hadn't seen a train on them since Stephanie had arrived in town and changed it for the better, ten months ago.

"It should be here now," he said, his voice laced with an urgency that made the woman standing beside him rest her hand on his arm.

"It will be fine, Milford. The driver probably isn't used to having to go to Lazytown all that often."

The Mayor's face calmed as he turned to look at Bessie, his wife of three months and Stephanie's new aunt.

"You're right," he muttered, staring off into the distance.

"Uncle Milford!" Stephanie shouted excitedly as she and the kids ran to the platform. Sportacus reached out and grasped Trixie's arm, pulling her back from the tracks before she fell onto them.

"The train is coming!"

Everyone on the platform looked at the large train that pulled into the station. As it stopped, the door to the carriage at the absolute front of the train opened and a petite figure with bright, fire engine red hair that fell longer than her shoulders in loose curls, a plain white t-shirt and blue denim jeans hopped out. She held a red suitcase in her hands, and she smiled at the driver before waving as he left.

"Scarlett!" Stephanie shouted excitedly, running towards the girl. The girl dropped her suitcase and scooped the pink-haired girl into her arms, spinning her around as they both laughed.

"Steph! I haven't seen you in ages! Look how big you are!"

"Well, duh!" Stephanie said cheerfully, taking Scarlett by the hand and leading her over to the group of people standing on the platform. "I am eleven now!"

They stopped.

"Everybody, this is Scarlett. She's my sister."

A chorus of hello's rang through the group. "Scarlett, these are my friends- Trixie, Stingy, Ziggy and Pixel." The four children in question waved at the tall teenager.

"This is Aunt Bessie, Uncle Milford you already know, and Sportacus. Sportacus is our towns superhero."

The Nordic man blushed faintly as Scarlett's gaze ran over him. He felt like he was being x-rayed, and that everything was exposed for her to see. The corners of her lips turned up as she shyly ducked her head and looked at Stephanie, occasionally glancing up at Sportacus, who caught her doing it a few times but was equally as guilty.

As she stood in front of the group, Sportacus got a good look at her face- full, sweetheart lips, bright emerald eyes that sparkled as she smiled at them all, button nose that wrinkled as she laughed at something Ziggy said to her. Her arms were toned- muscled even- as she lifted Stephanie into the air with ease, then giving the pink haired girl a shoulder ride back to the car that her uncle and new aunt had got to the station with.

All the kids and the other two adults piled in.

"Ah, I think I'll walk. I need to stretch my legs after the six hour train trip," Scarlett said, leaning through the window to talk to her uncle. "It's not that far, is it?"

"No, but I don't like the idea of you wandering around on your own. Robbie Rotten has been skulking around at the moment, and although he's usually harmless, as of late his schemes have been getting a lot more diabolical," Uncle Milford said.

Scarlett looked disheartened by this. Sportacus caught her arm and smiled at the mayor. "I will walk with her, if you want?"

The mayor smiled, and Scarlett winced at the look Stephanie was giving her through the car window. It was her little sister's eyes that gleamed of mischief before she tried to do something she knew her sister wouldn't like. Usually before she set Scarlett up with a guy by using her cuteness as a weapon.

"That should be fine, Sportacus. We'll see you at the house then?"

Scarlett waved to the kids who waved enthusiastically back, Stephanie and Trixie making kissy faces through the back window before giggling at each other.

"So, you're the infamous Scarlett?" Sportacus said as they made their way along the cracked footpaths of Lazytown, shielded by trees that lined the sides of the roads.

She laughed, looking up to meet his ice blue eyes. "Yep. And sadly, pretty much everything Steph has told you is true."

"So you _did_ get detention for putting dye in the school showers?" Sportacus asked curiously.

"For a month. But it was worth watching the school football team run around like Smurfs the Grand Final this year."

"You made them blue? Did they have to wear the white hats?" Sportacus asked, his blue eyes twinkling as he stared at the girl walking beside him.

"No, but now you mention it, it was a wasted opportunity." She pulled out her phone and showed the winning team's photo. Both she and Sportacus had to hold each other up, they were laughing that hard. Not just at the team, but also the expressions on the faces of their opposition. The members of the opposition were on the ground, laughing extremely hard.

They walked in silence for a while.

"It was good, while it lasted. I'm glad I'm moving here. School kind of sucked."

Sportacus stopped. "You're _moving_ here? Why?"

She chuckled at the expression on his face, but then sadness overcame her features as she glanced at the ground. "Steph told you about our parents?"

"No, she didn't- your uncle did. They don't sound like they were good people."

Scarlett laughed. "They most certainly were not. I got us both freed from their care- and Uncle Milford signed for guardianship- so that she didn't have to go back to that. Not ideal for a kid. But I can't help but feel that I'm cheating her out of something. Even though they're bad people, they're still our parents. What if she wants to be with them, not Uncle Milford and Aunt Bessie?"

Sportacus looked at the girl who had previously been laughing and joking, noticing a lone tear slip from the corner of her eye and slide down her cheek. He sat her down on the closest park bench, wrapping an arm comfortingly around her. She relaxed against him, her head buried in his shoulder as he felt her tears soak his super suit.

"Stephanie never told me about your parents," Sportacus said slowly. "She only ever talks about you. She idolises you. And you care very much about her. I doubt that she would want to go back to your parents. You did the right thing."

Scarlett looked up, tears still running down her cheeks. "You think so?"

Sportacus nodded, and she lowered her head back onto his shoulder. His thumbs reached out and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I know so. You are a good sister."

Scarlett gave him a watery smile, then noticed the tear stains on his suit. "I'm sorry. I don't usually cry about my life to strangers."

Sportacus placed a hand over his chest in mock indignation. "I am offended that you think of me as a stranger, Scarlett."

Her name slipped off his tongue smoothly, with the exception of the rolled 'r', and Scarlett decided that she quite liked the way he said her name. Sportacus decided he quite liked saying her name. There was just something… _enchanting_ about it.

"I barely know you," she replied, laughing. "You could be one of those weirdos my uncle was talking about, Sportacus."

He adored the way she said his name, and he felt something in his chest ache as she sat up and moved a little away from him. Scarlett felt the absence too, and regretted moving. Plus, he was warm and she was not.

"Well, what do you say we do something tomorrow? Just the two of us? We can get to know each other better."

Scarlett grinned at him with a look that reminded him of Stephanie when she was thinking quickly about something. Perhaps that's where the younger sibling had got it from?

"Okay, new best friend. It's a date."

 **~O~O~O~**

 **Leave a review if you like it! Constructive criticism is appreciated and considered!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, it was kind of sad that the first "review" (if you can even call it that), was so negative, but I do realise now that I didn't clarify Scarlett's age. For everybody who was a little unsure of it, she's eighteen. Just coming into adulthood, still in high school, trying to make sense of the world. You can all thank Pactaseisfan for drawing my attention this detail.**

 **Thank you to Larka-chan, WinxClub63, TriagonalSign and Iwanthiscake for your feedback and reviews- it certainly made my day and I will take it onboard.**

 **Anyway, the updates might be sporadic for a bit. I didn't think I had enough for another chapter, but I figured that I needed to post something so that I could clarify some stuff and thank my lovely reviewers :)**

 **Alright, on with the story!**

 **~O~O~O~**

She stood up and motioned to the road with a sweep of her hand. "We should keep walking- I'm sure that Uncle Milford will be wondering where we've gone."

Sportacus got up and offered Scarlett his arm. She placed a hand on his bicep as they both made their way down the street to the Mayor's house.

 **~O~O~O~**

"You're back! That took longer than I thought!" Stephanie exclaimed, rushing to Scarlett with excitement evident on her face. She noticed Sportacus behind her older sister and smirked. She was incredibly perceptive for somebody her age, and everyone underestimated her.

"We got talking," Scarlett replied nonchalantly, glancing back at the above-average hero who was behind her.

"Well, come on, or you'll miss the party!" Stephanie said, and Trixie rushed in to grasp hold of Scarlett's hands and drag her out to the backyard.

Scarlett shot a look to Sportacus, who was chuckling behind his hand as she mouthed ' _help me_ ' while Stephanie and Trixie dragged her away from him. He smiled and pointed at the crystal at the centre of his suit, as if to say ' _it's not glowing, therefore you don't need to be rescued just yet_ '. He received a glare in return.

"You have got to be kidding me," Scarlett said in disbelief, looking at the banner, the cake and the buffet that Bessie had prepared earlier that day. What startled her most was the small amount of people she was yet to meet.

"Scarlett, meet Officer Goodman and Dr Hart," Mayor Meanswell said, pointing to two men standing by the buffet chatting. They both grinned at Scarlett, and waved. She smiled, waving back.

"Scarlett!" the kids cheered as she moved over to the buffet, where they were all stuffing their faces.

"Would you like some sports candy?" Pixel offered, grabbing the basket off Stingy- who had moved protectively around the basket murmuring 'it's mine' over and over.

Scarlett arched an eyebrow, and glanced into the basket to see apples and pears.

"Sports candy?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah!" Stephanie beamed. "Sports candy is great! Sportacus says it makes us strong and happy, and it's really good for our bodies!"

Scarlett exchanged a look with the Nordic man in question who shrugged and blushed from over Pixel's shoulder.

"Sure. I would love some _sports candy_ ," Scarlett said, specifically emphasising 'sports candy' for Sportacus's benefit.

She took an apple and left the kids to continue eating the fruit with a vengeance, walking over to where Sportacus stood, half in the shadows.

" _Sports candy_?" she hissed, taking a bite of her apple and chewing loudly. "You honestly could not have thought of a better name for fruit?"

"They were part of a town obsessed with sugar. It was the only way I could make them eat it," he replied, snatching the apple out of her hand and taking a bite himself. He smirked at the look of outrage on her face.

"Hey, give that back!" she growled in mock annoyance.

He stuck his tongue out at her, to reveal chewed up food in his mouth.

"Want it now?" he teased. She leapt up and grabbed the apple out of his hand, taking another bite and glaring at him. He laughed at her before hugging her. In the dim light of the late afternoon, he didn't see her blush, nor did she see his.

 **~O~O~O~**

"Look at them, Milford," Bessie crooned from where she was watching the pair. "They are so adorable."

"Yes, they are," Milford said, looking down at his wife's face tenderly. She smiled at him.

"I may have to do a little matchmaking. They need to become an item, or else I will not be happy."

Milford gulped. Experience told him that until she got what she wanted, Bessie was not to be trifled with. Ever. Which meant that Sportacus and Scarlett may not have a choice in the matter.

 **~O~O~O~**

"Look at them," Stephanie murmured, watching the two people she knew would play with them with happiness written all over her face. Ziggy grinned, knowing her all too well.

"What's the plan, Stephanie?"

 **~O~O~O~**

The party had ended, and Sportacus had offered to help put everything away, the music Scarlett had left on the table soft from where she had been doing the dishes with him, but had been dragged away by her sister to read a bedtime story and tuck Stephanie into bed.

He could hear her low voice reading the words and the occasional squeal from Stephanie before Scarlett emerged from the room, switching off the light and closing the door behind her.

"Scarlett!" Bessie exclaimed, earphones still in from her run with Mayor Meanswell. "I set up your bed in the basement, but you'll need to put some sheets on your bed. Sportacus, could you help her? I would, but I need to go and see Officer Do-Gooder."

"Certainly, Bessie," Sportacus said, waving as she left.

He smiled softly at Scarlett, who had grabbed her phone and the pile of sheets and blankets that sat in the living room before inclining her head in the direction of the basement. The walls were alternatively wood and carpet. Sportacus looked at it in amazement. Scarlett noticed him looking.

"It used to be Stephanie's dance practice room, but Uncle Milford converted it into a bedroom for me. The carpet is soundproofing- Steph made a lot of noise."

He spotted a tea station in the corner, complete with a small tap that came in from the outside water tank as well as a fridge with milk in it already. Needless to say, Scarlett had multiple choices of mugs and tea. The bookshelf and the desk were completely bare, and the lights gave the impression of sunlight even though there was none coming through the windows at the top of the room.

The bed that was at the back of the room was a king sized bed- her uncle really had splurged on her. With an excited squeal, she ran and jumped on the bed, feeling the softness of the mattress and laughing as she lay across it.

Sportacus grinned and copied what she did. She ducked out of the way as he came crashing down on the spot she had been lying in just moments before.

"Watch it, Sportacus! That could have been me you landed on!" she yelped, throwing a pillow at him. He caught it with ease and laughed. The pair fixed up the basics of the room- the bed and the desk in the corner- and surprisingly finished in under five minutes, which for Scarlett was a personal record due to her inability to coordinate tasks well.

Sportacus was placing all of Scarlett's book collection on the wall long shelf her uncle had installed for her, while Scarlett was placing all of her clothes in the small cupboard in the corner.

Upstairs, Sportacus heard the noise of Bessie and Milford entering the house before he heard the door slam shut and the lock click.

 **~O~O~O~**

 **Let me know what you guys think! Remember- constructive criticism, not destructive criticism!**


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